Lurker > KCF0107

AI Score

Broncos - 17
Seahawks - 31

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

#100. Unholy Heights (PC, 2013)


Half building management sim, half tower defense game, this was quite the unique debut game from the four-person team of Petit Depotto. You play as the devil who becomes a landlord of a small apartment complex seeking monster tenants There's also those pesky humans seeking to wipe out monsters, so they will have to frequently defend themselves and their shelter from human attacks. You have some freedom during fights, such as when to send out tenants and when to have them retreat, but much about battling is automated, which is right up my alley because I don't like forced micromanagement.

There are a wide variety of monster types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and wants and needs that give the game more strategic elements if you are trying to recruit certain types of monsters. Over time, tenants will fall in love and produce offspring, giving you more defenders of your turf at your disposal. The building will also grow over time to house more monsters, which you'll need because that coincides with increasingly dangerous attacks by the humans.

I generally am not a fan of tower defense, but it sunk its claws into me almost immediately. I finished it in roughly 10 hours across a single weekend, a mark seldom seen in my post-college life. I can't imagine playing this without KB+M, but I happened to find it on sale on Switch eShop within the past year and decided to buy it again just in case I wanted to try it handheld.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Final HM: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS, 2006)


What an absurdly fun and ridiculous game! I am so sad that we never got the third game that featured ships instead of tanks.

DQH: Rocket Slime was a hybrid genre game. It was part action-adventure where you went through standard levels attacking enemies and sending items or even enemies on rail cars back to your base. Don't get me wrong, those portions of the game were fun and silly as you attacked by flinging yourself at enemies and watching them go flying and bouncing off of things or throwing objects that you carry on top of your head. However, that is not what made the game special. It was the surprisingly deep RTS tank battles that made the game stand out like it did.

These have two massive tanks pitted against one another. You can attack by throwing objects that you found throughout the game into cannons to launch at the other tank. Launchable items have all sorts of different effects, so it is imperative that you decide on your pre-fight ammunition inventory seriously or it could spell immediate doom for you. You can also launch crew mates to land on the opposing tank to attack cannons, enemy crew mates, and other stuff to hinder your opponent. You can even, and most likely have to, launch yourself. There are various levels to a tank, each housing cannons, enemies, and other stuff you can destroy. Once any tank reaches 0 HP, the fight isn't over. At this time, the tank's engine becomes exposed on the inside, and that means that no matter how either side got to that point, the final attack must be done on foot. In the more evenly contested matches, both sides could be scrambling to attack the opposing engine at the same time, leading to some thrilling finishes. I've had my fair share of close wins and losses.

I acutally had totally forgotten what the point of the game was. Apparently it was to rescue slimes. Whatever, tank battles rule.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

HM: Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii, 2010)


Kirby games I feel like have high floors but low ceilings. They exude charm and make you feel unstoppable. That's a winning combo! Unfortunately, they fail to harness in their strengths in a way that gives the games lasting appeal. Despite going back to a time when Kirby couldn't copy powers (though he still had contextual powers) or even inhale enemies, Epic Yarn manages to break free and give an unforgettable experience.

It all starts with the fabric art style which left me in constant awe. It was a perfect match for the vibrant color scheme that the Kirby series is known for. With there being no risk of death, I soaked in the scenery frequently. I have choice paralysis thinking about what levels or worlds were aesthetically my favorite. Good Feel, the developers, then utilized their stylistic choice to superbly base the gameplay after that. Because Kirby is made of yarn, he can transform himself into various objects at will, including a parachute and car. You also frequently interact with the environment to solve puzzles in order to proceed through the level or find secret collectibles that could only be made possible if everything was made of fabric.

They also did this to the Yoshi series to mixed results, but their debut attempt in Epic Yarn was a slam dunk.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

HMs: Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Xbox, 2001, 2003)


Remedy Entertainment has put together quite the impressive resume. They may be known to most people as the company behind Control and the Alan Wake games, but their two Max Payne games are my favorite works from them.

Stylish third-person shooters, the Remedy-era Max Payne games had the best video game use of bullet-time up to that point, and it never got old. As the screenshot shows, it can lead to some ridiculously over-the-top outcomes. You would think then that it would just be your run-of-the-mill, high-octane romp, but you'd be mistaken. The Max Payne matched the gameplay with a neo-noir tale about a cynical, self-pitying former detective full of religious and mythlogical overtones and a flair for dark comedic timing. Beyond the gameplay and world-building, what helps sell the game is the excellent inner monologue done by Max's voice actor James McCaffrey.

I actually didn't play them for the first time until around 2010, so I feel pretty confident that I would still hold the games in high regard if I played them again now.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

HM: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS, 2009)


This was hardly the first GTA on a handheld, but given that it was neither a port nor a strong tie-in, it was the most original GTA to hit the handheld. Given what I loved most about GTA, I was surprised at how well it translated to the DS. I don't remember much in the way of specifics about the core of the game if I've being honest. It has been about a decade since I last played it. Why this game stood out to me though, and why at one point I considered it to be in the running for my favorite DS game was a side activity: drug dealing.

The best way to make money in the game was by playing the drug market. Each area in the city had its own drug prices, and they change over time. Also, various gangs favor certain drugs over others, adding some extra layers to a basic premise. There were times where I would be absorbed in buying and selling various drugs for hours just so I could buy some properties I would never use.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

HM: Coffee Talk (XB1, 2020)


Coffee Talk was unquestionably inspired by VA-11 Hall-A, but it firmly stands on its own two feet and depending on the day, I would say it is even the better game!

Coffee Talk takes place in a version of Seattle where common mythological creatures like werewolves and mermaids are anthropmorphized and live amongst the humans. No matter the species, they love to visit your late-night coffee shop. Making beverages is a little involving in this game as you have to pick out the ingredients, and in a specific order. They do provide you with an index of all the drinks once you properly make a particular one for the first time, so if that part of the game isn't your thing, things should go smoother as the game goes along. If you do enjoy making drinks, they even have a challenge mode where they test you on your knowledge in a race against the clock.

Like VA-11 Hall-A, Coffee Talk tells a slice-of-life tale, but there is an overarching aspect. They keep the cast small, but because of that, they allow all of the characters to have the spotlight at times and by having them interact with each other, the character arcs become intertwined. It is rare for me to get so hooked in a narrative game that I can't put it down, but with the quality of writing, brisk pace, and dreamy soundtrack, time just flew by. I finished the six or so hour game in less than two days.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

HM: VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC, 2016)


I can stomach visual novel approaches to things like dialogue in adventure or hybrid genre games, but my (limited) experience with pure VNs has just left me wanting my time and money back. Now this isn't a pure VN, but it is pretty close to it. Each day, you do have several segments where you have to do your job bartender, and correctly mixing drinks that your customers want, and that can take some getting used to. Luckily, they give you visual cues before serving the drink to let you know if you succeeded or failed and should try again, and that's important because you need money to pay your rent each month, and you won't get by being terrible at your job.

The bulk of the game is listening to regulars and newcomers talk about all sorts of things going on in their lives and the world. This is very much a slice-of-life story with plenty of characters having their own arcs, including the bartender Jill. The characters sometimes interact with each other, but it is mostly one-on-one conversations. I think my main problem with the genre before was I only tried reading Japanese VNs. I am just not a fan of the characterization, style of writing, and pacing that you tend to see from there. This being a Venezuelan product, I found myself very engaged with the cast and world in a way that I never thought I would from a VN. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

A new challenger approaches!

The initial discussion for this came at a time when I was absent, and I was otherwise a little busy to start thinking about this. I finally got around to thinking about this in the past week and finally came up with 100 games to choose. Among everyone participating, I have to assume that I have the widest gaming history. I have probably played in the realm of 1500 games in my lifetime. Luckily, I have an account on a backlog site and had a few games that I never owned in the back of mind, so coming up with a preliminary list wasn't especially difficult.

Unfortunately, that preliminary list had a little over 200 games. I began tiering the games, and I got 75 games that were definitely in while the last tier had about 150 lol. I agonzied for days what to cut and what to keep, but I realized that I could completely flip those final 25 spots any given day, and just went with what stood out to me. Just keep in mind that the standard deviation in the back portion is massive lol. I also find ranking stuff kind of difficult, so I wouldn't consider these to be set-in-stone rankings of mine.

Here are the platform breakdowns of my game. If I played a game for multiple systems, I put down either what I felt was the best version or what I played first:
Xbox 360- 18
PC - 17
SNES - 10
Xbox One - 10
N64 - 8
PS3 - 7
DS - 6
Gamecube - 5
PS2 - 3
3DS- 2
Xbox - 2
Vita - 2
PS4 - 2
PS1 - 1
Game Boy - 1
Android - 1
Switch - 1
Atari 2600 - 1
GBA - 1
Wii U - 1
Wii - 1

In addition, I also did a very broad genre breakdown, some of which I made my own judgement that might be disagreed on. I considered being more specific, but I felt that would take away some of the (probably negative) surprise:
Platformer - 15
Action-Adventure - 14
Puzzle - 12
FPS - 11
Racing - 10
Stealth - 6
Sports - 5
RPG - 5
Party - 5
Adventure - 5
Strategy - 4
Simulation - 3
Arcade - 2
TPS- 1
Card - 1
Beat 'em up - 1

I will get a few honorable mentions down in a bit. These aren't necessarily games #101, 102, etc, but they are among the final batch of cuts that I just wanted to talk about.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

NBA 2K19 (XB1)

Well, I unexpectedly won the NBA championship in my first season. I also started a MyCareer file, and man am I struggling with the shooting meter. Luckily, I made my character a passing and defensive-oriented PG, so I hopefully won't be shooting often.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Nanis23 posted...

No
What is there to like?

Gordon Freeman is a video game character
You play a video game
I enjoy playing Half-Life
Gordon Freeman is the character you play as in Half-Life
Ergo, I like Gordon Freeman

Of course this doesn't apply to all video game situations, but it shouldn't be confusing why someone would like Gordon.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Yes
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Here were the final regular season stats for my championship squad

Giannis: 82 games, 27.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG, .525 FG%, .332 3P%
Doncic: 82 games, 14.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG, .491 FG%, .425 3P%
JJJ: 82 games, 11.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG, .489 FG%, .384 3P%
Brogdon: 82 games, 11.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG, .440 FG%, .390 3P%
VanVleet: 82 games, 11.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG, .403 FG%, .386 3P%
Covington: 78 games, 10.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.7 BPG, .402 FG%, . 379 3P%
Henson:73 games, 7.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG, .583 FG%, 1.000 3P%
Harris: 73 games, 5.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.0 BPG, .483 FG%, .471 3P%
Biyombo: 61 games, 3.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG, .495 FG%, .000 3P%
Faried: 58 games, 8.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG, .547 FG%, .000 3P%
Brown: 36 games, 3.2 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.0 BPG, .447 FG%, .455 3P%
Korver: 29 games, 8.0 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.0 BPG, .511 FG%, .531 3P%
Yabusele: 16 games, 1.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 0.1 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG, .304 FG%, .154 3P%
Calderon: 7 games, 1.0 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG, .333 FG%, .000 3P%

As you can see, Korver was a monster with shooting efficiency (and really a lot of players shot very well from three point range in particular). Ball distribution was also a strength of the team with four players at 4.7 or higher per game. Per 36 minutes, Calderon and Brown would also rate highly there. It did come at the expense of players like Henson, Faried, and Biyombo who against all odds did not record an assist.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

NBA Finals

Mavs beat Bulls 4-1

lol. Okay...I just...okay. I guess I should begin by talking about the series. I was forced to do a small-ish-ball lineup in Game 1 and was promptly defeated. Covington and Henson returned, and I re-did the minutes. I kept my starters the same as I had for most of the season. Approximately, Giannis gets 35, Doncic 32, Brogdon/JJJ/Covington 27-29, VanVleet/Henson 25, Faried/Korver 15, and then I divy up what's left to Biyombo and Brown. They weren't blowout victories, but I won convincingly nearly every game the rest of the way. Giannis was named Finals MVP, and while most of the stats back that up, I had to laugh that his 3P% was .091.

With the NBA title in hand, I fulfilled what I set out to accomplish lol. I know that a trade I couldn't take back set me back in 2K15, but I had 0 expectations of winning in my first season. I drafted Doncic and JJJ earlier than expected to play the long game. I expected to be a playoff team Year 1, but anything beyond that was going to be a bonus. I envisioned myself winning the title in 3-5 years to be honest. I wouldn't say that I am disappointed that I won right off the bat as I'm proud of the adjustments that I frequently made, and the trade of Harkless to sign Korver was a total game changer. That dude was money and probaby led my team in +/- per 36 minutes. However, it is a little underwhelming. I also started a MyCareer and can focus on that now.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Conference Finals

Mavs beat Spurs 4-0
Bulls beat Hawks 4-2

The magical run by the Spurs ends in a total wimper while the Bulls managed to avoid finding themselves on the desperate end of an elimination match.

This sets up a Mavs vs Bulls finals. The Bulls not only swept the season series 2-0, but they did it in blowout fashion. To make matters worse for the underdog Mavs, the Bulls are completely healthy while Henson and Covington are day-to-day.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

West Second Round:

Mavs beat Pelicans 3-2
Spurs beat Lakers 3-1

I was actually down 2-1 against the Pelicans. I truly thought my season was going to end. The Spurs on the other hand became the lowest seed in a non-striked shortened season to make the conference finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams. Impressive

East Second Round:

Bulls beat Pistons 3-2
Hawks beat Nets 3-1

The Bulls absolutely bulldozed over their competition in the regular season, but here in the playoffs, they had to come back to win multiple elimination games in consecutive series now (down 2-1 against Detroit). I didn't check to see their injuries, but this has to be concerning for the organization and fans in this virtual reality.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

West First Round:

Mavs beat T-Wolves 3-0
Pelicans beat Suns 3-0
Lakers beat Jazz 3-1
Spurs beat Blazers 3-0

Not only did the lower seed win 3/4 of the matchups, but they did it in convincing fashion.

East First Round:

Bulls beat Wizards 3-2
Pistons beat 76ers 3-2
Nets beat Celtics 3-0
Hawks beat Cavaliers 3-2

The higher seed might have won all four games, but aside from Nets/Cs, they were all competitive series. The Bulls were actually down 0-2 against the Wiz.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I had a good chuckle to myself when I found out that I could override award choices, but even though I disagreed with their choice of 6th man and rookie, I kept them where they were.

MVP - Anthony Davis (Bulls), Giannis 3rd
Rookie - Trae Young (Hornets), Doncic 2nd
6th Man - Jeremy Lin (76ers), VanVleet 3rd
Defensive - Kawhi Leonard (Pistons), Giannis 4th
Most Improved - Jayson Tatum (Suns)
Coach - Fred Hoiberg (Bulls)

Giannis was named All-NBA 2nd Team
Doncic was named All-Rookie 1st Team
JJJ was named All-Rookie 2nd Team

East Seeding
1. Bulls
2. Hawks
3. Nets
4. Pistons
5. 76ers
6. Celtics
7. Cavaliers
8. Wizards

West Seeding
1. Mavericks
2. Trailblazers
3. Jazz
4. Suns
5. Pelicans
6. Lakers
7. Spurs
8. Timberwolves
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I did end up trading Harkless. I got the Clippers' 2nd round picks in '21 and '22 plus a ~$10 mil trade exception that will probably go to waste. I scoured the free agent pool to see who I should sign to replace him, and I was shocked to see Kyle Korver there, so I snatched him up.

When the All-Star break came up, I was not surprised to see Doncic in that Rising Stars game, but JJJ was not named to the US side, and on the world side, they must have been really in need of eligible bodies because Yabusele was named to that team despite his minimal playing time. In the All-Star game proper, Team James (Harden) defeated Team LeBron (I was confused at first like somehow LeBron was playing both sides). Giannis was on Team James and had the highest +/- on the team and was the second leading scorer.

After the all-star break ended, Carlisle completely changed the rotations unless that was a bug with the game. VanVleet and Henson were in for Brogdon and Covington. We were doing extremely well before, but against my better judgment, I decided to give the new-look rotation a shot. We went 3-1 across the first four games, but we played against teams projected to have Top 10 picks, and we were really struggling against them. I went back to the original starting five. Faried was already out with a long-term injury, but we kept getting little injuries (1-2 weeks or day-to-day) every now, and always to our Fs and Cs. That caused me to frequently have to change the minute distributions and sometimes to where all healthy players were given minutes every game. I know that day-to-day players can still play, but I don't know what the re-injury odds are if you play an injured player and never felt like testing it.

There was a stretch where we ended up losing seven of eight, but the teams right in the thick of the #1 West seed (Jazz, Trailblazers, Suns) were also hitting rough patches. Thanks to the Jazz going 4-6 and Blazers 3-7 in their final 10 games, my 56-26 record was ultimately good for the #1 seed. The Bulls, Hawks, and maybe even the Nets in the East all had better records.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Carrion (Switch, Xbox One, PC)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4, Xbox One)

Streets of Rage 4 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch, Xbox One, PC)
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Monthly Progress
Bloodstained - Abacus
Hitman -
Gardens - paper, KCF, Sean, Abacus, Ark

Nominations
Abacus - Yakuza 3, Quantum Conundrum, Danganronpa 1
Ark - Rakuen, One Step Eden
Cody - Spyro 2, RE2 Remake
KCF - Titanfall 2, Peggle 2
metalmind - Hexcells
Wickle - Ys II

Supports
darkx - Spyro 2
Paul - Yakuza 3
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I've finally committed more time to Hitman. I got through Paris in a different way than I did the first time! I drowned Viktor and snapped Dalia's neck while she was working on the laptop. I tried to do Sapienza in a different way too, but boy do I regret the path that I took. I have some manual and auto saves from before I committed to my current plan that I can load up and change things.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I have gone through the game multiple times, and the same level gets me every time.

Constellation 6-1
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Since they traded Herm Edwards, there have been four:

Eric Mangini
Rex Ryan
Todd Bowles
Adam Gase

Are you including Saleh as the fifth?
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Spreadsheet is mostly updated. I need to add signings to team financial sheet and I guess depth chart.

Game summaries will go up in the next days.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

KingButz posted...

Another game that I want to get around to someday. I guess there was a fourth game that was bad or something? I don't even remember it.

I really liked the first two games.

There were five. Dream Team and Paper Jam came after.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

In Other Waters (Switch, PC)

Spiritfarer (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

Crusader Kings III (PC)

DIRT 5 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I currently sit 38-15 up to the trade deadline. That is good for 2nd in the West (Jazz #1) and 3rd overall behind also the Bulls. My team stats with rankings are:

112.1 PPG (1st)
102.8 PAPG (3rd)
9.3 Point Diff. (2nd)
.482 FG% (3rd)
.389 3PT% (1st, albeit with bottom five attempts per game)
52.0 RPG (1st)
25.8 APG (5th)
8.4 SPG (4th)
5.9 BPG (T-2nd)

Giannis is currently 3rd in MVP race and 5th in Def Player of the Year
Doncic is 2nd in RotY
VanVleet is 4th in 6th man

Since I don't have a 1st round pick, I've just had my scouts look for sleepers and 2nd round prospects for all positions. I'm not really sure what my roster is going to look like, so I'm not going to pigeonhole myself into specific prospect scouting.

Factoring in my bench, my team is more frontcourt heavy, but Faried and Henson are currently injured. I decided to divy up those minutes to allow everyone else to play, and I have been quite impressed with Bruce Brown. He always gets at least two AST/STL a game and generally hits his lone 3PA that he makes. I have made Giannis his mentor.

I stopped at the trade deadline because I am wavering about what I want to do. All of the trade requests that I have been receiving have been for basically Bogdon or JJJ. JJJ is basically untouchable for me. Bogdon I could be willing to part with given VanVleet's emergence, but nobody is really offering something that I like except the Lakers are putting up two future 1sts (2020 Top 10 protected and 2022 unprotected maybe?). They have probably the oldest team in the league, but they are currently in line for the 5th seed in the West, so I don't know how soon I can expect them to fade, and I don't like that one of the picks is protected. What I am thinking about doing is trading Harkless for two future 2nds (2020 and 2021 I think) from the Clippers. The Clippers currently have the 4th worst record at 19-36, and Harkless, who has fallen on my pecking order, isn't going to be a needle mover for them, so the 2020 pick is at least expected to be low based on what has transpired this season). I could use those 2nds to trade up if this is anything like NBA 2K15.

I'm also thinking about Covington's future. He's shooting it well from beyond the arc, but he also sometimes feels like he's my 7th best option given how well Henson and VanVleet have performed off the bench. I still have him under contract for awhile, so I can make a decision later.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

sim soon
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

No, I re-checked and I definitely kept missing it. That makes no sense since I clearly found it when setting up MyGM, but whatever I can do without my 1st round pick
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Emeraldegg posted...

Also there is totally an option to undo all prior trades, when you set up and go to the "trades" section, there's a "previously traded draft picks" option you can turn off and it will make every team have their picks I believe

Like I said, this was in MyGM, but I could not find it in MyLeague despite the fewer settings. It is possible that I somehow kept missing it over and over.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Sim
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

44. Beat a game that's been adapted into another medium
Quantum Break

Hey, this counts!
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Quantum Break (XB1)

Another great game from Remedy! I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the video game and TV show combo, but I think it all worked out well! I don't know why I ever doubted them. My junction choices:

Hardline
Professional
Amaral
Control
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

The Bulls are now 11-0 being #1 in points for and points against and #1 in FG% and 3PM%. They are in the Top 5 of several other major stats. They are insane. I am 7-2. I lost to the Bulls by three and got blown out by the then 3-5 Lakers led by Klay/Jrue/Millsap.

They really want me to go with a 9-man rotation, but I do have a positive +/- with him. He is only hitting .385 overall and .200 from deep. Okay, he's out and gave more minutes to Brogdan, JJJ, VanVleet, and Henson.

I also changed up some of the mentorship. Doncic was paired up with Covington but the default badges were those that Covington was at a bronze level and didn't seem to be all that important (like putbacks), so I went with some gold level ones that dealt with defense and elusiveness.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I'm not going to provide updates after every in-game week or anything, but man, defense is insane while my offense is a problem. I'm 2-0 behind allowing just over 90 points per game (best in the league), and while I am scoring 109 per game (11th in league with 3rd best point differential per game), my FG% is at .409 (28th in the league). My second unit is excellent as Henson and Faried are just bullying everyone, but Giannis, Doncic, and Brogdon are all shooting under .370 from the field. It is weird because Doncic is hitting over 40% of his threes on 3 attempts per game. I know it's a miniscule sample size, but weird none-the-less!

My team is also 3rd in free throw %, 5th in rebounding, has committed the fifth fewest turnovers per game, and the 6th fewest fouls per game. I think that I am going to keep things the same for now. I am about to face the undefeated Bulls and Hawks in the second week who have AD/Adams/Dragic and KAT/Aaron Gordon respectively, so this should be a much better indicator of where my team currently stands.

Oh geez, the Bulls are shooting .529 from the field and .451 from deep. I am not feeling good about this.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Nah, this was on sale for like $2 on XB1 like a year or two ago
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Okay, I have settled on this for my minutes distribution

PG Brogdon - 29
SG Doncic - 30
SF Covington - 29
PF Giannis - 36
C JJJ - 28

6 VanVleet - 23
7 Henson - 25
8 Faried - 20
9 Harris - 15
10 Harkless - 5

Calderon - 0
Biyombo - 0
Brown - 0
Yabusele - 0

I didn't change much except give 5 to Harkless by taking away from Henson and Giannis. They really want me to give a lot more minutes to true centers and less to SFs, but I like how this looks to begin.

I begin by playing the Suns who are headlined by Tatum, Valanciunas, and Kuzma and the Timberwolves with Embiid, Markkanen, and Fournier. I feel good about starting at least 1-1! I am ranked 16th, 16th, and 17th by the power rankings. Suns are 17th, 14th, and 25th while the T-Wolves are 24th, 30th, and 22nd.

I've also decided to run a balanced system. It was the only one to receive 3.5/5 stars.

I put up both of my 2nds on the trade block less because I want to and more because I am curious to see how players and draft picks are valued in the game. Better to use those than use Draymond Green as a guinea pig lol.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I guess 2K ended online support for this game? I get a message saying that I couldn't connect to servers or something when I get to the main menu. I knew it was considered a disappointment and sports games these days don't keep servers on for as long as they used to, so I'm assuming it has to do with that and nothing is wrong on my end. Anyway, I bring that up because player ratings must be reflected in their initial ratings when the game came out and not what they would be now.

Oh wow, I got the second pick! I remember in my 2K15 project, I picked like 26th. Jazz got the first pick and took LeBron. Now since I don't have a 1st round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, I am definitely going into this draft with the belief that I need to nail my long-term core.

1. F Giannis Antetokounmpo (94)
2. G/F Luca Doncic (79)
3. F Jaren Jackson Jr. (78)
4. G Malcolm Brogdon (79)
5. F/G Robert Covington (79)
6. C John Henson (77)
7. G Fred VanVleet (77)
8. F/C Kenneth Faried (76)
9. G/F Joe Harris (75)
10. F Moe Harkless (73)
11. C Bismack Biyombo (74)
12. G Bruce Brown (70)
13. F Guerschon Yabusele (69)
14. G Jose Calderon (73)

I wasn't overly concerned with positions, but this seems balanced. I could have taken higher considerably higher rated players in the second and third (I think there were 83s with my second and third), but I am hoping to take advantage of four years of low-cost Luca and JJJ as they are are rookies, and with their potential ratings, they could really blossom. I'm thinking that I could put JJJ at the 5 and roll with a Brogdon/Luca/Covington/Giannis/JJJ starting squad. My second unit looks solid too imo, but I don't know how it stacks up against the rest of the league. Henson and Harkless have multi-year contracts in the double digits AAV, but those shouldn't be too bad to keep on my cap. I think maybe only 10 or 11 players typically get playing time, but I thought that I would grab Brown and Yabusele as they are on rookie contracts with decent potential ratings. They could become valuable trade chips or solid bench players for me down the line. I didn't intend on having that young of a team to where I am a little worried. I think Calderon might be the only one in his 30s.

Hmm, I put in the hard cap of $225 mil, but it is saying that my $122 mil is $20 mil over? I am hoping that the $225 mil comes into play this offseason or one of the main reasons (I also just love both of them) for grabbing Doncic and JJJ was for naught.

Well, my potential long-term core of Giannis/Luca/JJJ/Brogon is 25 or under, so they should all have plenty of time before they start to regress. I'm hoping to have a lengthy window to contend.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

I did this a long time ago with...*checks to see which game had Durant on the cover*...NBA 2K15. Being the first time I played an NBA 2K game using the front office modes, I was unaware about how you could not test out things like trading and drafting to get a feel for it and that the game autosaved. Needless to say, accidentally trading Draymond Green for three 1sts set me back, and it took me 10 seasons to finally claim the NBA championship. Now I'm going for it again with 2K19!

I erroneously said I was going to do MyGM mode in the poll topic. Well, to be more accurate, I should say that I did attempt to, but switched to MyLeague. For some reason, I thought that I did MyGM the first time, but that clearly was not it because when I was overwhelmed and confused by the 15 different menu tabs and having to do crap like pick out game day promotions and have conversations with my players/coaches/owners like I was supposed to have all the knowledge and power in the world. I switched to MyLeague, and this looked right with reduced menus and the general flow of things.

Anyway, back to the point. My goal here is to win an NBA championship. MyLeague apparently runs for 80 seasons. I sincerely hope that it takes me but a small fraction of that to meet my goal. As always, I am taking the Mavericks and also doing a fantasy draft. In MyGM, I could return all current draft picks back to their original teams, but that didn't appear to be an option for this even with the fantasy draft, so I guess my 1st round pick via the real life Doncic for Young trade is with Atlanta regardless of the fantasy draft results. If anyone who is also involved in B8NFLL and/or paid attention to my 2K15 topic know, I am definitely not a fan of the potential rating and its effect on player development. That did force me to have to do everything in my power to trade up into the lottery or higher within it in 2K15, which did eventually pay off. Without that first round pick though, I had to make sure to do well in this initial draft. My 2K15 draft yielded what should have been a Butler/Rubio/Green/Valanciunas core, though Butler did end up being on my championship team and Rubio was there for all but the final season.

A few other changes that I also made were the playoff structure being 5/5/7/7 game series since it has no business being 7 games in every round. I am also a vocal opposer to the soft salary cap, so I switched it to a hard cap. Not knowing what the figure should be, I set it at $225 mil, up from $200 mil I think. I set draft combine and pre-draft workouts to auto, and everything else was kept the same.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Kingdom Hearts
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

My nominations yesterday lost by a combined score of 37-10

Frog Fractions 3 (PC)

*abstain

Half-Life: Alyx (PC)

Battletoads (Xbox One)
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

NFC Playoff Picture

Playoff Teams
1. St. Louis Rams 10-2 (won NFC West)
2. Dallas Cowboys 9-3 (NFC East leaders)
3. Atlanta Falcons 9-3 (NFC South leaders)
4. Green Bay Packers 9-3 (NFC North leaders)
5. Washington 7-5 (Wild Card)
6. Anaheim Lightning 6-6 (Wild Card)

Playoff Contenders
7. Minnesota Vikings 6-6
8. San Francisco 49ers 6-6
9. Toronto Wildcats 5-7
10. Las Vegas Pumpkins 5-7
11. Chicago Bears 4-8
12. New York Giants 4-8
13. Detroit Lions 4-8
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-9

Eliminated from Playoff Contention
15. Carolina Panthers 2-10
16. Seattle Seahawks 2-10

Cowboys earn a playoff berth with a win or 49ers loss

Falcons claim NFC South with a win or Lightning loss

Packers claim NFC North with a win or Vikings loss

Buccaneers are eliminated with a loss or 49ers win

Bears and Giants are eliminated with a loss and Lightning win

Lions have a more complicated elimination scenario, but it begins with a loss
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

AFC Playoff Picture

Playoff Teams
1. Miami Dolphins 9-3 (AFC East leaders)
2. Columbus Pioneers 9-3 (AFC South leaders)
3. Portland Express 7-5 (AFC West leaders)
4. Mexico City Browns 7-5 (AFC North leaders)
5. Oakland Raiders 7-5 (Wild Card)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers 7-5 (Wild Card)

Playoff Contenders
7. Denver Broncos 7-5
8. Baltimore Ravens 7-5
9. Buffalo Bills 6-6
10. Tennessee Titans 6-6
11. New England Patriots 6-6
12.Kansas City Chiefs 5-7
13. New York Jets 5-7
14. Cincinnati Bengals 5-7
15. Indianapolis Colts 5-7

Eliminated from Playoff Contention
16. Jacksonville Jaguars 3-9

Dolphins clinch playoff spot with a win

Pioneers claim AFC South with a win or Titans loss

Bengals are eliminated with a loss or wins by two of Steelers/Raiders/Broncos/Ravens

Chiefs/Jets/Colts have far more complicated elimination scenarios, but it is possible if they lose for starters.
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Players of the Week
Offense - Pats HB Dexter McCluster
Defense - Falcons OLB Pernell McPhee

User vs User Matchups
Colts at Jaguars
Browns at Chiefs
Pioneers at Washington
Giants at Pumpkins
Raiders at Wildcats
Bills at Bears
Panthers at Buccaneers

Game of the Week
Pioneers at Washington

Week 14 will be simmed on Thursday, January 14th
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Broncos - 12
Steelers - 16

2nd Quarter
McCaleb 27 yard FG
Belton 2 yard run

3rd Quarter
Carpenter 40 and 26 yard FGs

4th Quarter
McCaleb 54 yard FG
Carpenter 37 yard FG
Coker 3 yard run + missed XP

Notable Players
Steelers HB Jamario Thomas 159 total yards
Broncos DE Cameron Wake 7 tackles, 1 sack
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Vikings - 35
49ers - 14

2nd Quarter
Portis 8 and 7 yard runs
Howard 42 yard INT

3rd Quarter
Colvin 3 yard pass from Portis
Leggett 28 yard pass from Freeman

4th Quarter
Leggett 46 yard pass from Freeman
Goodwin 1 yard pass from Portis

Notable Players
Vikings QB Josh Portis 16-21, 109 yards, 10 rushes for 62 yards, 4 total TDs
49ers QB Kirby Freeman 11-24, 170 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
49ers WR Lance Leggett 4 rec for 87 yards, 2 TDs
49ers MLB Korey Norton 15 tackles
49ers OLB John Simon 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Patriots - 16
Colts - 9

2nd Quarter
Ficken 26 and 22 yard FGs
Reed 18 and 46 yard FGs

3rd Quarter
McCluster 67 yard run

4th Quarter
Reed 47 yard FG
Ficken 43 yard FG

Notable Players
Colts QB C.J. Bethard 12-24, 54 yards, 3 INTs
Pats HB Dexter McCluster 243 total yards, 1 TD
Pats SS Keon Jackson 6 tackles, 1 INT
Pats SS Justin Bethel 2 INTs
Colts DT Dan Williams 6 tackles, 1 sack
Colts OLB Jarvis Jones 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FF
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Bengals - 10
Raiders - 24

1st Quarter
Campanaro 23 yard pass from Dalton
Williams 14 yard pass from Dalton
Hogan 56 yard pass from Locker

2nd Quarter
Mason 1 yard run

3rd Quarter
Wilhoit 42 yard FG

4th Quarter
Elliot 48 yard FG

Notable Players
Raiders QB Andy Dalton 11-20, 98 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Bengals WR Chris Hogan 5 rec for 100 yards, 1 TD
Bengals OLB Tom Chiang 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
Raiders MLB Lavonte David 13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
Raiders MLB Vontaze Burfict 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu

Pumpkins - 17
Lightning - 27

1st Quarter
Moore 4 yard run
Moore 39 yard FG
Fairbairn 52 yard FG

2nd Quarter
Moore 36 and 40 yard FGs
Barner 95 yard KR

3rd Quarter
Brown 22 yard pass from Bortles
Fairbairn 34 yard FG

4th Quarter
Reed 1 yard pass from Hill + 2 pointer

Notable Players
Lightning HB Kestahn Moore 190 total yards, 1 TD, 2 fumbles
Pumpkins WR Ted Ginn 8 rec for 140 yards
Pumpkins MLB Christian Jones 10 tackles, 1 sack
Lightning OLB Todd du Plessis 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
Lightning CB Jalen Mills 1 FF, 1 INT
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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu